State Health Regulatory Excellence Index (SHRESTH)

The Union Health Ministry has launched the State Health Regulatory Excellence Index (SHRESTH), a new initiative to strengthen and standardize drug regulatory systems across states and Union Territories. Developed by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the index aims to create a transparent, data-driven framework for states to identify gaps and improve their regulatory performance.

How SHRESTH Works

The SHRESTH Index is designed to function as a roadmap for continuous improvement, not merely a scorecard. States are categorized into two groups:

• Manufacturing States: These are evaluated on 27 parameters across five key themes:
  • Human Resources: Assessing the adequacy of trained personnel.
  • Infrastructure: Evaluating laboratory testing capacities and other facilities.
  • Licensing Activities: Checking the efficiency of issuing approvals and licenses.
  • Surveillance Activities: Gauging the rigor of inspections and market oversight.
  • Responsiveness: Measuring the speed of response to citizen grievances.
• Primarily Distribution States/UTs: These will be assessed on 23 parameters covering similar themes.

Data will be submitted monthly by the states, and the CDSCO will score the metrics and share the rankings on the first day of the following month.